Rival Palestinian factions held a second full day of talks Thursday, focusing on the formation of a coalition Cabinet and what commitments the West would require to lift its financial boycott of a government involving Hamas. The wording of the new government's line on the peace accords has become the No. 1 issue, delegates said Thursday, according to the AP.
The parties set nightfall as deadline for clinching a power-sharing accord. Working groups of both factions met from early morning in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca to finalize plans for a national unity government, a Hamas official said Thursday.
The working groups "must complete their work by Thursday evening at the latest, the results of which will then be presented to ... Abbas, Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal and prime minister Ismail Haniya," said Mohammed Nazzal of the Hamas political bureau.
"A drafting committee will then be formed to draw up the final text of the accord to be signed," he added.
